What council?
After uniting the Eastern and Western Roman Empire, Emperor Constantine I convened over the Council of Nicaea to settle divisions among the church. He did not want a divided church, especially after claiming that the Christian God had helped him in his military victories.
In 325 AD, he assembled a council of Christians in Nicaea and they finally decided on one view of Christianity, while throwing out different views. Thus, many non-Christians, such as Mormons often cite this historical event on how Christianity has been manipulated down the ages. Popular books, such as Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Raymond Khoury's The Templar Salvation, portray the Council as a political tool for Constantine I to rule his empire.
But this is oversimplifying the issue, as I shall explain in awhile.
What are the common misunderstandings of the Council of Nicea?
1. The council decided on Biblical canon
Even a cursory look at wikipedia reveals that the agenda of the Council. The Council examined mainly the views of Arius (a heretic Christian), the dates to observe religious festivals like Easter and the status of apostates (people who have renounced Christianity).
2. There were many competing views of Christianity
At the time of the council, there were not many competing views of Christianity. There were no Gnostics, Ebomites or even Donatists. There were two views-- the view that the Father (God) and the Son (Jesus) were of the same substance (which eventually became the orthodox view) or that the Father and Son were of different substances (the view of Arius). Contrary to what was portrayed in The Da Vinci Code or The Templar Salvation, the discussion was unambiguous. Out of the 300-odd bishops present, only three (including Arius himself) voted for Arius.
The view on Jesus's status was not decided by a few votes.
3. Emperor Constantine I manipulated the views of the Council
All Emperor Constantine I was concerned about was the stability of the empire. He wanted the unified Christianity, so he could avoid religious unrest among the Christians.
However, he was unhappy with the results of the council. The council condemned the Arian Christians, even though Constantine I wanted the views of Arius to be tolerated. Furthermore, his closest Christian advisers were Arian. (His baptiser was an Arian Christian.)
So if Constantine I manipulated the council, there are at least two issues we must consider--
(a) Why were the views of Arius condemned by the council?
(b) These bishops had undergone a severe persecution by the previous Emperor. Why would they be willingly to renounce their ideals just because Constantine I held a council?
Conclusion
Even though the Council of Nicaea has a bad reputation in recent years, it was not as controversial as it was portrayed to be. The question whether Jesus was divine was never an issue.
For further details:
Inspiring philosophy
